Authorities: Orleans Parish inmate hanged himself

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Authorities say an inmate who had recently been on suicide watch hanged himself early Saturday morning at the Orleans Parish jail.

Authorities tell The Advocate (http://bit.ly/18jC7qU) Clifton Morgan, 28, who was facing charges of simple burglary and violating his probation, was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m. of apparent self-inflicted asphyxiation.

Authorities said Morgan had been sent to a psychiatric tier and put on suicide watch after his initial mental health screening on Sept. 17. He was transported to LSU Interim Hospital for evaluation on Sept. 25 and was returned the same day to the prison's psychiatric ward. He was later transferred to the general population.

Morgan had asked to be removed from his assigned tier, the sheriff's office said, during which time he was placed in a holding cell across from the watch commander's office. The watch commander was in frequent contact with him, according to authorities.

It was there that he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him failed. An autopsy will be conducted by the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office.